KOTTAYAM: More than a decade after the exit of the Kerala Congress led by P J Joseph from the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in April 2010, the Left camp is set to fill the ‘vacancy’ with a ‘potential’ partner after the Jose K Mani-led Kerala Congress(M) faction formally announced its interest to enter the coalition.
With the CPI state leadership clearing the decks for CPM’s move to bring Jose into LDF, only a few formalities remain for the induction of KC(M). Jose on Thursday met Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in Thiruvananthapuram to commence formal discussions in that regard. While KC(M) has decided to return to the LDF 39 years after party founder K M Mani walked out of the Left camp in 1981 to join UDF, a slew of questions on its political impact has started doing the rounds. According to sources, Pinarayi has himself taken the initiative to bring Jose to LDF and the process had begun shortly after the demise of K M Mani in April 2019.
Hence, Jose is expected to get a decent space in LDF, with a strong possibility of getting five winnable assembly seats — Pala, Poonjar, Kanjirappally, Kaduthuruthi and Changanassery — in Kottayam district, along with Roshy Augustine’s Idukki constituency. Should NCP quit LDF over the Pala seat, Jose may get Kuttanad as well. Five other promising seats in different districts will also be allocated to the Jose faction to limit the total number of seats to 12.
For Jose, it is for the first time in his political career that he is entering a major political battle without the shrewd support of his father, K M Mani. The onus is now on him to prove his mettle. By deciding to align with LDF, he has taken on the responsibility of pulling his weight in central Travancore deeply rooted in the political matrix of Syro-Malabar Church. While K M Mani succeeded in winning the trust of the Christian community, all eyes are now on Jose to know how he would handle the KC(M)’s vote base in Kottayam, Idukki and Pathanamthitta.
“K M Mani found a niche in state politics by raising the issues of Christian farmers, especially settler farmers in central Travancore. At the same time, he maintained a good rapport with heads of various community organisations, bishops and others. The question is whether Jose can continue in the same vein,” said a political observer.
While the Syro-Malabar votes are traditionally considered pro-UDF, unprecedented fissures in the Christian community offer an opportunity for Jose. If he can exploit the fragmented Christian votes, it would definitely rewrite political equations in state politics. For LDF, it is an opportunity to make inroads into the Christian vote base in central Travancore, which was hitherto an insurmountable obstacle for the Left.